Top 10 News Reporting Fails

VO: Rebecca Brayton
Script written by Matthew Thomas.
They’re supposed to be informative, but from time to time they can also be hilarious. In this video, WatchMojo.com counts down our picks for the top 10 news reporting fails. For this list, we’re counting down the most epic fails in the history of the news. These can involve reporters, journalists as well as anchors and in-studio personalities. Prepare yourselves to see those serious news people seriously humiliate themselves! Be sure to also check out our list of the Top 10 Beauty Pageant Fails. Special thanks to our users Daniel McMahon, lred11, perryhigh and jwiking62 for submitting the idea on our Suggest Page at WatchMojo.comsuggest

Top 10 News Reporting Fail

They’re supposed to be informative, but from time to time they can also be hilarious. Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we’re counting down our picks for the top 10 news reporting fails.

For this list, we’re counting down the most epic fails in the history of the news. These can involve reporters, journalists as well as anchors and in-studio personalities.

#10: What Kind of Job Was That?

In the modern age of 24-hour-a-day news, reporters who at one time did everything they could to be taken seriously are now pushed to treat lightweight fluff as sincerely as world changing news. Perhaps Shepard Smith had had enough, so when he was given a story about Jennifer Lopez’s latest music video he chose to inject something a little different into his delivery as a form of protest. Perhaps he had a thing for the singer and had something on his mind, or perhaps he just got mixed up and it came out wrong. Either way, this story took a turn for dirty quite quickly.

#9: Make Believe

One of the most important aspects of bringing the news to the public is cultivating an ability to get to the truth of any story - and not let lies and deception deter you. How someone in the chain of command of this news station was not able to stop these anchors from treating this TV set as a legitimate crash scene will never cease to amaze us. We can only imagine if the copter camera panned a little bit more to the side that there would have to be cameras, crew and maybe even trailers or catering fully in view!

#8: Jet Slack

When you first wake up in the morning and find your way to the nearest TV, one of the last things you’d probably expect to see is a grown man slammed into the sea. Using a water-powered jet pack when you have what we presume is little TV experience may sound like a fun idea at first, but it also may just lead to internet infamy. When the anchors burst out into uncontrollable laughter at your misfortune immediately thereafter, then that fate is virtually ensured. Still looks wicked fun though.

#7: Can’t Handle the Pressure

Another morning show, this time in Australia, sent a reporter on a mission he couldn’t handle. Up in the sky above Earth, at the mercy of a pilot who’s used to the rigors of plane tricks, a mild mannered presenter made the mistake of encouraging a man to push him to his limits. The look of just holding back vomit and exhilaration on his face soon gives way to one in which he seems at peace as unconsciousness takes him.

#6: News Lessons

There are few things in the world more awkward than suddenly finding yourself working under somebody who you were at one time the boss of. Probably the worst case scenario is when you find yourself at odds with him while LIVE on television - but at least you can rest assured that your embarrassment is creating some amazing TV for the rest of the world. We can’t help but love every second of this anchor and reporter engaging in school yard level taunts in what should otherwise be a very serious environment.

#5: Unique Introduction

At one time, the world of television was dominated by a few networks that had a stranglehold on what you saw on your sets. As a result, only the most seasoned, experienced people got the chance to helm the news. In our modern world where there are seemingly as many stations as there are stars in the sky, there are many more opportunities for unknowns to grace your TV. An example of why that’s not a good thing: A.J. Clemente’s first seconds on air were stained with vulgarity and awkwardness that got him fired, as well as on Letterman talking about his mistakes.

#4: Instant Karma

Arguably there is nothing more visceral than seeing or hearing someone in extreme pain and knowing exactly what is going through their mind. After trying to trick her opponent into momentarily stopping her grape stomping, the reporter falls face first into the ground. She’s clearly in extreme pain and most of us can relate. In the immediate aftermath of suffering, many of us may try to put up a front that the experience isn’t as bad as it seems; so it would take an all-encompassing pain that our brains wouldn’t be able to ignore to make us drop that façade. The end of this news segment is the incarnation of that effect and we can’t stop listening to it, though we’re also cringing at the same time.

#3: Boom Goes the Dynamite

You’d think that the two segments of the news that seem the most clear cut and easy to handle would be the weather and sports. The latter is oftentimes just spouting stats and scores with a few moments of personal opinions or witticisms thrown in. As such, many couch potatoes who love sports may fancy themselves a good fit for the role. If you happen to know someone with delusions of grandeur about their potential as a sportscaster or reporter and you want to shut them up, then this clip is for you. Sometimes incapable of even stringing a sentence together, this reporter can only spout one memorable line convincingly.

#2: We’ll Do It Live!

Unlike some of the other reporters on this list, Bill O’Reilly is a very seasoned television personality. It may be because of that that he feels comfortable being a complete dick while on set. When the teleprompter doesn’t display what he expects, instead of being a professional and working to rectify the situation, he at first barely holds in his unbridled rage, and then, completely unleashes it on those behind the scenes. The fact that he is aware that he is being filmed by the very people he unleashes on speaks to his pompous belief that they’d never share the footage with others. Luckily for all of us, he was very wrong.

Before we reveal our top pick, here are a few (dis)honorable mentions.

- Word Scramble
- Roadside Snack
- I So Pale
- Arachnophobia
- All Mixed Up
- Congratulations
- Do What To The Chicken?

#1: Zero Prank Radar

When Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crashed on its final approach to an airport in San Francisco, it had the focus of eyes and ears worldwide. Even in this most grave of circumstances, there are those among us that saw it as an opportunity for jokes and levity. After years of falling for fake names, even Moe from “The Simpsons” may have balked at just how ridiculous a name like Sum Ting Wong sounds when read aloud, but somehow it still made it to live television with the Bay Area’s KTVU Channel 2 news reporting several incorrect pilot names as fact.

Do you agree with our list? What’s your favorite biggest news fail? For more hilarious Top 10s published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.